What Does The Bible Say About Judging Others?

Name: David
Question: Hi Brandon. I am somewhat confused about “judging others” as to what is written in the Bible.

It seems as though we are told not to judge others yet Christ tells us we will know them by their fruits and Paul in 1st Corinthians 5:10-13 said not to keep company with a wicked person. So, what does it mean to judge?

Answer: Thank you for the question David.

You are spot on. Jesus told us “Judge not, that ye be not judged” in Matthew 7:1. Then just a few verses down, Jesus warns us “beware of false prophets… Ye shall know them by their fruits,” effectively telling us to “judge,” (Matthew 7:15-16).

Did Jesus contradict Himself?

Of course not. The Bible never contradicts itself and you knew that. That is why you wanted to identify what it means to judge, perfect David!

Let’s talk about it.

Judging Others

Please turn your Bible with me to,

Matthew 7:1
Judge not, that ye be not judged.

This verse is two-fold, and in order to properly understand it, we will gain context by reading more of this chapter in a moment. First, we know from Exodus 21-23 that we can judge according to God’s Law, so we know there is more to the story.

The Meaning Of Judge

Now the word “judge” has several meanings, some of them are,

Condemn, damn, and decree.

These words provide us with a definition for the word “judge.” In this context, Jesus told us not to “condemn” or “damn” someone, essentially to hell.

Hey, we should never do that, we are imperfect men and it is not our right. After all, it is God who will condemn “some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt,” (Daniel 12:2).

At the same time, we can “judge” in the sense of;

To distinguish, decide (mentally or judicially), conclude, determine, call in question.

So we can certainly make judgements in life, and we should remember, it was God Himself who told Moses to establish judges who should judge the people.

God Said To Judge The People

Turn your Bible with me to,

Deuteronomy 16:18
Judges and officers shalt thou make thee in all thy gates, which the LORD thy God giveth thee, throughout thy tribes: and they shall judge the people with just judgment.

God told Moses to appoint judges and officers, men who would judge the people according to God’s Law. So we know we can judge, the only question is how we judge.

The key to all of this comes next.

Deuteronomy 16:19
Thou shalt not wrest judgment; thou shalt not respect persons, neither take a gift: for a gift doth blind the eyes of the wise, and pervert the words of the righteous.

We are not to “wrest” which means “bend” or “pervert” judgement. We are not to respect someone’s social status or wealth, much less take gifts that pervert the words of the righteous.

This all means we can judge, but we must judge righteously, and in order to do that, we ourselves must be righteous. This is what Jesus was really getting at in Matthew 7:1.

We have this same message echoed in the New Testament.

John 7:24
Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment.

Very plainly understood. There can be judgement, but it must be righteous. This is how we ensure God’s Word is understood by all and adhered to.

Never forget, God called us to judge, and God loves judgement, (Psalms 37:28).

We Are Judged By How We Judge

Remember Jesus said, “Judge not, that ye be not judged?”

Let’s follow that up.

Matthew 7:2
For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.

Jesus is telling us, we will be judged according to how we judge others. Even down to the level of measure we “mete” which means “allot,” it will be measured against us.

Here is the best part.

Matthew 7:3
And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother’s eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye?

Now we begin to understand what judgement is all about.

It is not about pointing out the “mote,” which means “straw” in someone else’s eye. All when we have a “beam,” which is a “stick of timber” in our own eye. Simply meaning, we should not be quick to judge the faults of others, when we have bigger faults to deal with.

Doing so would be considered “unrighteous judgment” and something we should not be doing. That is why it’s so much better to take care of ourselves, rather than worry about someone else.

Matthew 7:4
Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye?

This reminds me of the blind leading the blind, (Matthew 15:14). If we cannot figure out our own problems, then we are in no position to judge other people, nor would we be able to help them as we cannot help ourselves.

Matthew 7:5
Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother’s eye.

Now we know why Jesus said, “Judge not, that ye be not judged.”

If we judge people when we have our own problems, we are not acting out of concern for them. In reality, we are probably trying to deflect our own problems by focusing on someone else’s. That is not being a good person, much less a good Christian.

First, we take care of our own faults and problems, then we can help others through God.

That is what judgement from men is all about. Helping each other understand and come in line with God’s Law, not out of malice or ill intent as the Bible often points out, (Jam 4:11-12, 1 Cor 4:3-5, Rom 14:10-13).

Judge Righteous Judgement

We can now understand, it is righteous judgment that is permitted with the intention of correcting someone through God’s Law. That is why we have verses like 1 Corinthians 5:10-13 that you pointed out.

Remember, we are not of the world, so we look to God’s Law to be our guiding light so we understand what is acceptable to Him, (John 15:19). That is why we are not to keep company with a non-believer, even a Christian brother if they are a;

“…Fornicator, or covetous, or an idolater, or a railer, or a drunkard, or an extortioner.”

1 Corinthians 5:10

God instructed us to make these judgement calls. That is how we protect our faith and family from those who may harm us physically and spiritually.

Why are we to depart from their company?

Wisdom is better than weapons of war: but one sinner destroyeth much good.

Ecclesiastes 9:18

We should help sinners who want to be helped, but we should not be warm and chummy with them on a personal level if they want no part of God. That is why we are told, “put away from among yourselves that wicked person,” those identified in 1 Corinthians 5:10-11, 13.

As it is written,

…What fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?

2 Corinthians 6:14

Someone who has no desire for God and continually sins will only drag us down and potentially turn us away from Him. So never let someone distort the Bible and say you cannot judge when God said you can in order to protect you, your family, and help others stay on good ground with God.

Summary

The fact of the matter is we judge or use discernment every single day, and there is nothing wrong with that as we have learned.

We may decide not to make a business deal with someone based on our findings of them. Some may walk on the other side of the street if a questionable individual comes their way. Others may not befriend those who are wicked in God’s eye, (1 Corinthians 6:9-10).

Taking these sorts of precautions is not “judgemental” in the sight of God. These precautions use common sense and come from the Bible. They keep us in good financial shape, safe, and spiritually uplifted.

Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.

But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night.

Psalms 1:1-2
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